High frequency ultrasound elastography improves the differential value of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis with thyroid nodules / 中华内分泌外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the value of high frequency ultrasound elastography in the differential diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) with thyroid nodules.Methods:112 HT patients complicated with thyroid nodule disease in Department of Ultrasound in Yantai Yantaishan Hospital from Jan. 2017 to Jan. 2020 were randomly selected for prospective study. All patients were diagnosed by routine ultrasound and high-frequency ultrasound elastography, and underwent surgical exploration and pathological diagnosis. Taking the postoperative pathological results as the gold standard, the specificity, sensitivity, negative-positive predictive value of conventional ultrasound and high-frequency ultrasound elastography in HT complicated with thyroid nodular disease were compared and analyzed, and the diagnostic efficacy was evaluated.Results:There were 138 nodules in 112 cases, including 47 benign nodules and 91 malignant nodules. The specificity and sensitivity of routine ultrasonography were 80.85% and 78.02%, respectively; The specificity and sensitivity of high frequency ultrasound elastography were 87.23% and 90.11%. Compared with conventional ultrasound, high frequency ultrasound elastography had higher specificity and sensitivity in detecting lesions ( χ2=4.54, 4.25, P=0.026, 0.039) . The negative predictive value of routine ultrasonography was 65.52%, the positive predictive value was 88.75%, and the ROC was 0.775. The best diagnostic cut-off point was 3.04. The negative predictive value of high frequency ultrasound elastography was 82.00%, the positive predictive value was 93.18%, the ROC was 0.812, and the best diagnostic cut-off point was 32.89 kpa. Compared with conventional ultrasound, high frequency ultrasound elastography had higher negative and positive predictive values ( χ2=4.35, 4.48, P=0.031, 0.027) . Conclusion:High frequency ultrasound elastography can improve the negative predictive value and sensitivity in the diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and thyroid cancer, judge the benign and malignant lesions, and provide more accurate data for early surgical treatment.